France and football royalty Thierry Henry has shared his predictions for the FIFA World Cup 2026, backing his home nation to lift the trophy — while also tipping Senegal and Norway as teams capable of going deep into the tournament.

Henry, who was part of the France squad that claimed the country's first World Cup title in 1998, is covering the tournament for Fox Sports alongside Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Alexei Lalas. He spoke about his favourites as part of a campaign with Bastian Schweinsteiger and Kaká for the mobile game Clash of Clans.

France the pick, but England are waiting

When asked who he fancies for the title, Henry did not hesitate. "Being French, I'm going to have to stick with France — as you can imagine," he said. "And it would be great for one of the hosts, especially the US, to have a bit of a run."

He also acknowledged the weight of expectation surrounding England, with a knowing smile: "People are waiting for England to finally go over the line — again, because you know when they won it."

Senegal and Norway no longer dark horses

Henry reserved particular praise for two sides he had flagged as dark horses well before the tournament began — and he noted that those picks no longer look surprising. "It's kind of weird: I called them dark horses a long time ago but they don't look like surprises anymore… Senegal and Norway," he said.

He pointed to Norway's qualification campaign as evidence of their credentials, noting they finished ahead of Italy. "Norway qualified finishing in front of Italy, beating them pretty easily. We know the quality they have in the squad," Henry added. Of Senegal, he offered a wry observation: "They're in our group, by the way!"

Gilberto Silva the ultimate protector

As part of the Clash of Clans campaign, Henry was also asked which former team-mate he would choose to protect his in-game village. His answer was immediate: Gilberto Silva. "He was a joke: whenever we were attacking, doing what we were doing, you saw him — also with Brazil — just staying back," Henry explained, praising the Brazilian midfielder's defensive reliability both at Arsenal and on the international stage.

Henry, Kaká, and Schweinsteiger are participating in the campaign to coincide with the return of Global Chat in Clash of Clans, as well as a special football-themed Clan War League event running alongside the World Cup.